Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry has played down reports linking the club with a move for Portsmouth striker John Marquis.

Earlier this week, reports from Hampshire Live claimed that Peterborough had made an enquiry about a potential move for Marquis, when the transfer window reopens next month.

Now however, it seems that such a deal will not be happening when the market reopens at the turn of the year.

Responding to questions about those links, Fry was quoted by The Peterborough Telegraph as describing those claims of an interest in Marquis as "nonsense".

Since joining Portsmouth from Doncaster back in the summer of 2019, Marquis has scored 36 goals in 117 appearances in all competitions for the club, who are currently eighth in the League One table.

As things stand, Marquis' contract at Fratton Park is set to expire at the end of this season, meaning he could leave the club for free in the summer.

The Verdict

This does seem like a sensible approach for Peterborough and Fry to take over Marquis.

Admittedly, it does seem as though Posh could do to add some more firepower to their ranks in January, if they are to avoid relegation from the Championship this season.

However, given Marquis has only scored four goals in 17 League One appearances this season, it feels like it could be a risk for them to rely on him to get the goals they need to do that.

For Portsmouth though, that may be somewhat frustrating, given they are running out of time to find a potential buyer for the 29-year-old before his contract expires.